the wallflower and the champion
by MandeePotter
Summary: in which Eponine is a shadow and Enjolras's hands are much too calloused to touch something so fragile [les mis high school au]


"Come on everyone! No need for all this complaining! It's the _French_ _Revolution_, show some spirit! No? Well too bad, assigned partners build character, so quiet down so I can give you assignments," Mr. Lemarque said way too dramatically.

Eponine sighed, resting her head on her desk, and praying for some quiet person to be her partner. She didn't think she could take one of the snippy girls or jocks, and she didn't know much about the Revolution and didn't want to do the project all by herself.

"Cosette and Marius, you're together!" The two gave each other coy smiles from across the room. Eponine scoffed, those two wouldn't stay together for more than a week.

"Grantaire and Courfeyrac!" The two boys cheered and high-fived. _Good this rules them out as partners for me, _Eponine thought.

"Eponine and Enjolras!" _No, oh no._ _Not him. _

Enjolras's eyes scanned the room, trying to figure out who 'Eponine' was. He looked around his group of friends and asked if anyone knew who she was. All of them shrugged, until Marius stopped having eye sex with Cosette for a minute to point in her direction.

She was gorgeous. Wavy brown hair, sun-kissed skin, and soulful eyes, despite her terrified expression. Her frown puzzled him.

"She's hot," Enjolras said.

"She's weird," Bossuet remarked. Enjolras turned to him.

"Why?" He was confused as to how a girl like her would be classified as 'weird.'

"Long time ago, she used to be the top around here. She got caught in a bunch of weird lies, and her parents scammed a lot of people, and now no one really sees much of her. No one really cares about her anymore," Bousset explained as Joly tried to propose project ideas to him.

Eponine remembered Enjolras. She remembered how lost he was in his first few weeks of school here, and she remembered his rise to popularity as he tried out for the baseball team. He was amazing, the best baseball player she had ever seen. Everyone loved Enjolras, everyone hung on his every word. She knew that he was a recipe for disaster.

Nothing good came out of handsome baseball players.

And nothing good came out of the most beautiful wallflowers, Enjolras thought.

* * *

"So, this is it? This is where you lurk?" Enjolras said, as his steps sounded much too loud on the stage in the empty auditorium.

"Lurk, creep, whatever adjective you chose. This is my hiding spot," He heard her voice from behind a large canvas. He walked towards the sweet sound of her voice.

"A hiding spot?" He questioned, looking at the set she was painting, and stifling a laugh. The colors mixed and bled into each other, sliding down the piece. It wasn't exactly the best painting he'd ever seen. He put his fist to his mouth and bit down on his knuckle to keep from exploding into a fit of laughter.

"Everyone has a hiding spot, Enjolras," she said, painting in a streetlamp that was leaning to the left. She looked up at him, and saw his reddening face.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just… for someone who spends so much time in here, I assumed you'd be a better painter," Enjolras said, finally giving in, and laughing, and Eponine shoved his shoulder.

"Hey, shut up!" She laughed along with him though, putting her hands over her blushing cheeks. "I never said I was any good, I just need something to waste time with!"

Both of them were doubled over in fits of hysterical laughter, as Enjolras fell over, knocking a can of red paint to the ground. Enjolras, scrambled to the side, trying to avoid the trail of red sweeping its way across the tarp they laid upon.

"Crap!" Eponine squealed as the paint stained the cuffs of her jeans. Enjolras grabbed her waist, and rolled her into the paint, letting it stain his hands as Eponine kicked, and fought, trying to delay the impending paint war.

"_No_!" She squealed, but his arm tightened across her waist, and his stong red hand moved across her skinny stomach, leaving a red arc on her white shirt. She trembled under his touch. She wanted to throw up, scream, and fling herself off the stage all at once. Slowly she realized their position. She was laying on her back, her entire body stained, while Enjolras hovered over her, his hand moving up her side to her face, where it caressed her cheek, marking his touch. Her hand reached up to the back of his neck, and his lips connected to her neck, and feeling his smirk grow across her bare skin, _god it was the sexiest thing she'd ever felt_, he whispered to her.

"You're my hiding place, Eponine."

* * *

"Just leave me alone, Enjolras. The project is over. You can forget I exist," Eponine said, rubbing furiously at her reddening eyes, trying to stop the tears from coming.

"No," Enjolras said, quietly but firmly.

"Just leave me alone!" She shouted, trying to stomp away from him, uncaring that her shouting in the hall could disturb the classes that somehow still went on uncaring behind closed doors.

"Why do you want to disappear so badly? I'm not a bad person, Eponine," Enjolras said, as he chased after her, surprised that such a tiny thing could be so fast.

"I know that," She whipped around and growled at him, but he stood his ground.

"Then why are you so adamant on getting away from me?" He asked, grabbing her hand, and holding onto it, despite her attempts to tug it away.

"Because," she said, letting her hair fall over face, hiding her blushing cheeks.

"Because why?" Enjolras asked, stepping even closer, letting his fingers brush over her soft cheek. His eyes searched hers, begging for answers.

"Because I can't stop thinking about you," She whispered, stepping away.

**Yeah, so again, it was successful on tumblr, so I figured it was worth a shot to throw up here! Please review! x**

**Also, look out for anothe oneshot tonight, and check my tumblr for hints on it: .com**


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